Explosively actuated rail punch

ABSTRACT

A track rail having an upwardly tapered web portion is straddled by a yoke, one end of which carries a die with a substantially flat front face. The opposite end of the yoke carries explosively driven punching means in axial alignment with the die and also having a substantially flat front face lying in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the punching means. The front face of the die lies in a plane inclined to the plane just mentioned in order to provide a space between them tapering upwardly to substantially the same degree as the portion of the rail web that is to be punched. The yoke is clamped onto the rail with the top and bottom of the front face of the die engaging one side of the rail web so that the top and bottom of the front face of the punching means will strike the web at the same time when the punching means is driven forward.

Giebel et al.

[ 1 EXPLOSIVELY ACTUATED RAIL PUNCH [75] Inventors: Joseph L. Giebel,Pittsburgh; Frank K. Hill, Irwin, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Mine Safety Appliances Company,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Jan. 7, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 431,219

[52] 0.8. CI. 30/358; 30/361; 30/DIG. 4 [51] Int. Cl 1326f 1/00 [58]Field of Search 30/358, 361, DIG. 4

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 138,201 4/1873 Safely 30/361667,258 2/1901 30/361 2,008,362 7/1935 Littlehale 30/358 UX 2,140,21412/1938 Temple 30/358 UX 2,140,338 12/1938 2,302,646 11/1942 2,357,3069/1944 Benner 30/36l July 8, 197 5 5 7 ABSTRACT A track rail having anupwardly tapered web portion is straddled by a yoke, one end of whichcarries a die with a substantially flat front face. The opposite end ofthe yoke carries explosively driven punching means in axial alignmentwith the die and also having a substantially flat front face lying in aplane perpendicular to the axis of the punching means. The front face ofthe die lies in a plane inclined to the plane just mentioned in order toprovide a space between them tapering upwardly to substantially the samedegree as the portion of the rail web that is to be punched. The yoke isclamped onto the rail with the top and bottom of the front face of thedie engaging one side of the rail web so that the top and bottom of thefront face of the punching means will strike the web at the same timewhen the punching means is driven forward.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 8 I975 SHEET EXPLOSIVELYACTUATED RAIL PUNCH Explosively actuated tools for punching holes in thewebs of railroad track rails are known. Such a tool punches a holehaving a center line perpendicular to the central vertical plane of therail web. The punch strikes the rail web first at only one point. thelowest point of the punch. which causes the punch to tend to tilt bypivoting vertically on that point. The resulting internal stress on thepunch and its driving piston is so great that it frequently results infailure of one or both of those components of the tool.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide an explosivelyactuated rail punching tool. which does not tend to tilt the punchduring punching. which protects the operator from possible injury. whichhas a longer life than similar tools known heretofore and which requiresless power to operate.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. in which FIG. I is a side view. with parts brokenaway in sec tion. showing the tool mounted on a rail;

FIG. 2 is a view of the front end of the die taken on the line ll-ll ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line Ill-lll of FIG. I; and

FIG. 4 is a view of the right-hand end of the tool as seen in FIG. 1,the rail not being shown in FIGSv 2, 3 and 4.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a typical railroad track rail isshown which has a head 1 and a foot 2 integrally connected by a verticalweb 3. The web shown is not of uniform thickness from near its top tonear its bottom. but has slightly concave sides. Also, the contour ofthe web is such that the portion of it that is to be punched is thinnerat its top than at its bottom. so that portion is referred to herein andin the claims as being tapered upwardly. whether its opposite sides areflat or slightly curved as shown. It is this taper that causes theproblem that this invention solves.

Clamped onto this rail is a tool for punching holes through the upwardlytapered portion of the web. Such holes can be used for bolts forconnecting splice plates to the rail in a well-known manner. Thepunching tool includes a U-shaped yoke S that straddles the rail. Theupper part of the yoke rests on the rail head and its opposite endsextend down beside the opposite sides of the web. The lower ends of theyoke are provided with axially aligned passages 6 and 7 through them.One of these passages normally contains punching means formed from apiston 8 slidably mounted in the passage and having a socket in itsfront end in which the rear end portion of a punch 9 has a sliding fit.The opposite end ofthe piston has a tapered portion that has a wedge fitin a socket 10 in the inner end ofa plug 11 screwed into the outer endof passage 6. This plug has an axial bore through it that forms achamber for an explosive cartridge 12. Screwed onto the reduced outerend of the plug is a breech block 14 provided with an axial borecontaining a firing pin 15 that is urged forward by a coil spring [6.The firing pin can be retracted by a pull ring 17 in its outer end sothat a U-shaped spacer 18 can be inserted between a collar 19 on theouter end of the firing pin and the breech block. As shown in FIGS. 1and 4, a safety pin 20 in the spacer prevents it from being removedaccidentally. When this pin is removed, the spacer can be pulled away,which will allow the spring to drive the firing pin forward against thecartridge to detonate it. This will drive the piston and punch forwardtoward the rail.

At the front end of yoke passage 6, which is the end adjacent the rail.the yoke is provided at opposite sides of the passage with integralportions 22 projecting under the rail head into engagement with the railweb. The ends of these projecting portions preferably are convex. Asshown in FIG. 3, the inner surfaces of the projecting portions 22 arecurved on the same radius as passage 6 in order to fit opposite sides ofthe piston when it is driven forward out of the passage and thus help toguide it.

The passage 7 through the opposite end of the yoke is threaded and athreaded stud 23 is rotatably mounted in it and provided in its outerend with a socket 24 for a wrench. The front end of this member projectsfrom the yoke toward the rail and extends into a shallow socket 25 inthe rear end of a hollow die 26. This die extends from the stud to therail web when the tool is clamped in place. which is done by turning thestud to press the die against the rail and simultaneously draw theprojecting portions 22 of the yoke against the opposite side of the railweb. The die is prevented from turning on its axis when the stud isturned. because the top of the die is provided with a flat surface thatengages an overhanging flat surface 27 of the yoke as shown in FIGS. 1and 2. The inside of the die is a size to receive the punch and the slugthat it punches out of the rail.

It is a feature of this invention that during the punching operationlateral or off-center stress on the punch and piston is avoided.Accordingly. the front end of the die is substantially flat and lies ina plane inclined to the axis of the die and also to the plane of thefront face of the punch. which may be provided with a forwardlyprojecting central point if desired. The plane of the front face of thepunch is perpendicular to the axis of the punch and piston. and theinclination of the two planes just mentioned is such that the spacebetween them tapers upwardly to substantially the same degree as theportion of the rail web between them. Consequently. as the yoke is beingclamped onto the rail as previously described. the yoke will rock on therail until the top and bottom of the front end of the die engage theweb, whereupon the front face of the punch will be generally parallel tothe side of the web directly in front of it. When the tool is fired. thetop and bottom of the punch will strike the rail web at the same time sothat no torque is exerted on the punch which might cause it to breakaway one side of the piston socket. The top and bottom of the flat frontend of the piston also will strike against the rail web simultaneously,which will arrest the piston. There will be no lateral strain on thepunch and piston as there has been before.

The punch, due to inertia, will leave the piston socket and will passentirely through the rail and into the hollow die along with the slugthat it punches out of the rail. After the tool has been released fromthe rail by backing off stud 23, the die can be slipped off the end ofthe stud 23 and the slug and punch dropped out of the die. Then thepunch can be inserted again in the socket in the front end of the pistonfor the next punching operation. The axis of the hole punched in therail will be inclined a few degrees to the central vertical plane of therail, but that makes no difference because the bolt that is used isenough smaller than the hole to permit the bolt to be disposedhorizontally.

As a safety precaution, to protect the operator from any fragments ofmetal that might fly away from the rail during the punching operation.it is desirable to provide the tool with a guard. Such a guard may haveparallel sides connected by a flat bottom close to the bottom of theyoke beneath the punch as shown in F165. 1 to 3. The sides of the guardextend up the opposite sides of the yoke and their upper edges areturned toward each other to provide narrow flanges 31 supported by shortpins 32 projecting from the sides of the yoke. The outer end of theguard is closed by an end plate 33 pro vided with a central opening.through which the outer end of plug 11 extends. When the breech block isscrewed onto the plug. it forces the guard forward to press its frontend against the web ofthe rail. When the breech block is removed forreloading the tool. the guard is prevented from accidentally movingoutwardly far enough to fall off the yoke by means of a stop pin 34projecting inwardly from one side of the guard at its front end. Thispin will strike one of the supporting pins 32 for the guard and therebylimit outward movement of the guard.

The tool is provided with a handle that preferably in' cludes a U-shapedbracket 35 seated on top of the yoke and having ears 36 extendingdownwardly in engagement with opposite sides of the yoke. Screws 37extend through these ears into the yoke to hold the bracket firmly inplace. The upper part of the bracket is provided with aligned holes inwhich the opposite ends of a tube 38 are welded. This tube forms a handgrip. In case two men want to carry the yoke. a short pipe or rod 39 canbe inserted in the tube. with the ends of the rod projecting from it. Tocenter the rod in the tube. the rod may be provided with a cross pin 40that will engage one end of the tube.

It will be seen that the punching tool disclosed herein operates in astraight line with no forces acting on any of its parts during punchingthat would impart lateral strain on them. so the tool has a longer lifeand needs less power to operate. This is especially true when heavyrails. such as 140 pound rails. are being punched. The guard is lockedin place when the tool is mounted on a rail and therefore the guard mustbe used in all punching operations.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes. we have explainedthe principle of our invention and have illustrated and described whatwe now consider to represent its best embodiment. However. we desire tohave it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustratedand described.

We claim:

1. A tool for punching an inclined hole through the upwardly taperedportion of the web of a track rail. comprising a yoke adapted tostraddle the rail and having ends for extending down beside its oppositesides. a hollow die between said ends carried by one of them and havinga substantially flat front face. explosively driven punching meanscarried by the opposite end of the yoke in axial alignment with the dieand having a substantially flat front face lying in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the punching means. the front face of thedie lying in a plane inclined to said first-mentioned plane to provide aspace between said planes tapering upwardly to substantially the samedegree as the portion of the rail web that is to be punched, and athreaded member screwed into said one end of the yoke and having aprojecting inner end engaging and supporting said die. said member beingrotatable to move the die toward the punch for clamping the yoke onto arail with the top and bottom of the inclined front face of the dieengaging one side of the rail web. and the yoke and die having engagingsurfaces that prevent rotation of the die when said threaded member isturned. whereby the top and bottom of the front face of the punchingmeans will strike the web at the same time when the punching means isdriven forward.

2. A tool for punching an inclined hole through the upwardly taperedportion of the web of a track rail. comprising a yoke adapted tostraddle the rail and hav ing ends for extending down beside itsopposite sides. a hollow die between said ends carried by one of themand having a substantially flat front face. explosively driven punchingmeans carried by the opposite end of the yoke in axial alignment withthe die and having a substantially flat front face lying in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the punching means. the front face of thedie lying in a plane inclined to said first-mentioned plane to provide aspace between said planes tapering upwardly to substantially the samedegree as the portion of the rail web that is to be punched. saidopposite end of the yoke having a portion projecting toward said one endof the yoke for engaging a rail web when the yoke is clamped onto it.means for clamping the yoke onto a rail with the top and bottom of theinclined front face ofthe die engaging one side of the rail web so thatthe top and bottom of the front face of the punching means will strikethe web at the same time when the punching means is driven forward. aguard straddling said opposite end of the yoke and having two side wallsand a bottom wall. the guard being movable forward from a rearinoperative position to a forward guarding position beside saidprojecting portion of the yoke. 21 cartridge-receiving member carried bythe rear end of said opposite end of the yoke, a firing pin behind saidmember, and a breech block carrying the firing pin and adjustableforward relative to said member to move said pin from a rear inoperativeposition to a forward operative position, the breech block beingengageable with said guard to move the guard forward to its guardingposition when the breech block is adjusted forward to the operativeposition of the firing pin. whereby the tool cannot be operated untilthe guard is in its guarding position.

3. A tool for punching an inclined hole through the upwardly taperedportion of the web of a track rail. comprising a yoke adapted tostraddle the rail and having ends for extending down beside its oppositesides. a hollow die between said ends carried by one of them and havinga substantially flat front face, explosively driven punching meanscarried by the opposite end of the yoke in axial alignment with the dieand having a substantially flat front face lying in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the punching means, the front face of thedie lying in a plane inclined to said first-mentioned plane to provide aspace between said planes tapering upwardly to substantially the samedegree as the portion of the rail web that is to be punched, and meansfor clamping the yoke onto a rail with the top and bottom of theinclined front face of the die engaging one side of the rail web,whereby the top and bottom of the front face of the punching means willstrike the web at the same time when the punching means is drivenforward, said punching means including a piston and a the inner surfacesof said projecting portions forming continuations of the wall of saidpassage to guide the piston when it is driven forward.

4. A tool according to claim 3. including a guard extending forward fromsaid opposite end of the yoke to the front end of said projectingportions.

1. A tool for punching an inclined hole through the upwardly taperedportion of the web of a track rail, comprising a yoke adapted tostraddle the rail and having ends for extending down beside its oppositesides, a hollow die between said ends carried by one of them and havinga substantially flat front face, explosively driven punching meanscarried by the opposite end of the yoke in axial alignment with the dieand having a substantially flat front face lying in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the punching means, the front face of thedie lying in a plane inclined to said first-mentioned plane to provide aspace between said planes tapering upwardly to substantially the samedegree as thE portion of the rail web that is to be punched, and athreaded member screwed into said one end of the yoke and having aprojecting inner end engaging and supporting said die, said member beingrotatable to move the die toward the punch for clamping the yoke onto arail with the top and bottom of the inclined front face of the dieengaging one side of the rail web, and the yoke and die having engagingsurfaces that prevent rotation of the die when said threaded member isturned, whereby the top and bottom of the front face of the punchingmeans will strike the web at the same time when the punching means isdriven forward.
 2. A tool for punching an inclined hole through theupwardly tapered portion of the web of a track rail, comprising a yokeadapted to straddle the rail and having ends for extending down besideits opposite sides, a hollow die between said ends carried by one ofthem and having a substantially flat front face, explosively drivenpunching means carried by the opposite end of the yoke in axialalignment with the die and having a substantially flat front face lyingin a plane perpendicular to the axis of the punching means, the frontface of the die lying in a plane inclined to said first-mentioned planeto provide a space between said planes tapering upwardly tosubstantially the same degree as the portion of the rail web that is tobe punched, said opposite end of the yoke having a portion projectingtoward said one end of the yoke for engaging a rail web when the yoke isclamped onto it, means for clamping the yoke onto a rail with the topand bottom of the inclined front face of the die engaging one side ofthe rail web so that the top and bottom of the front face of thepunching means will strike the web at the same time when the punchingmeans is driven forward, a guard straddling said opposite end of theyoke and having two side walls and a bottom wall, the guard beingmovable forward from a rear inoperative position to a forward guardingposition beside said projecting portion of the yoke, acartridge-receiving member carried by the rear end of said opposite endof the yoke, a firing pin behind said member, and a breech blockcarrying the firing pin and adjustable forward relative to said memberto move said pin from a rear inoperative position to a forward operativeposition, the breech block being engageable with said guard to move theguard forward to its guarding position when the breech block is adjustedforward to the operative position of the firing pin, whereby the toolcannot be operated until the guard is in its guarding position.
 3. Atool for punching an inclined hole through the upwardly tapered portionof the web of a track rail, comprising a yoke adapted to straddle therail and having ends for extending down beside its opposite sides, ahollow die between said ends carried by one of them and having asubstantially flat front face, explosively driven punching means carriedby the opposite end of the yoke in axial alignment with the die andhaving a substantially flat front face lying in a plane perpendicular tothe axis of the punching means, the front face of the die lying in aplane inclined to said first-mentioned plane to provide a space betweensaid planes tapering upwardly to substantially the same degree as theportion of the rail web that is to be punched, and means for clampingthe yoke onto a rail with the top and bottom of the inclined front faceof the die engaging one side of the rail web, whereby the top and bottomof the front face of the punching means will strike the web at the sametime when the punching means is driven forward, said punching meansincluding a piston and a punch carried by the front end of the piston,the front face of the piston being parallel to the front face of thepunch, said opposite end of the yoke being provided with a passagetherethrough containing said piston, said opposite end of the yoke alsohaving portions at opposite sides of said passage projecting toward saiddie for engaging a rail web when the yoke is clamped onto it, the innersurfaces of said projecting portions forming continuations of the wallof said passage to guide the piston when it is driven forward.
 4. A toolaccording to claim 3, including a guard extending forward from saidopposite end of the yoke to the front end of said projecting portions.